This invention relates to modular structures which are constructed from prefabricated panels, and more particularly, to structural panels and arrangements for interconnecting and for anchoring such structural panels.
Advancements in the building industry have resulted in the introduction of modular construction to permit mass-produced structures and eliminate many of the conventional on-site construction procedures which contribute to high building costs. The modular concept employs prefabricated structural components, such as wall and roof sections which are transported to the building site and assembled to form a structure. Examples of such prefabricated structural panels are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,846,524 and 4,091,142. Each of the panels has a projection or tongue portion extending the length of one vertical edge of the panel which is received in a complementary slot in the edge of an adjacent panel, forming a dovetail type joint between the adjacent panels. The panels are held together by adhesive deposited in the joint area or by bolting adjacent panels together. However, the joint provided by this panel connection arrangement does not provide positive alignment between the panels during the erecting of the structure and the panels may slip during the erecting of a structure.
Such prefabricated panels may be used as cladding panels to enclose structural steel framing for erecting factory buildings, warehouses and high-rise buildings, for example.
Moreover, the prefabricated structural panels may be used to construct modular building structures which are completely self-supporting, thereby eliminating the need for conventional support frame work.
In application in self-supporting structures, the panels have to be anchored to footings at the building site. One arrangement for anchoring modular structures which are comprised of prefabricated panels is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,848,376. In that arrangement, prefabricated wall panels are assembled together with their lower base portion disposed on a concrete footing which was previously poured to correspond to the interior floor plan for the structure. After the panels have been assembled together, a concrete layer or floor is poured to extend to the outer perimeter of the structure and cover a ledge formed at the junction of the base portion of the panels and an upper vertical portion of each wall panel to anchor the structure to the footing. A plurality of spaced upstanding plates extend upwardly into the concrete floor from the inner wall surface to lock the wall panel and the concrete layer against separation in a direction normal to the wall panel. However, such anchoring is not provided until after the structure has been erected, and the panels may slip during erecting of the structure.